Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Tonight's Must-See

"American Idol," 7 p.m., Fox. Tonight, we meet the third batch of eight semi-finalists. And in case you've been, like, lost in the Ko'olaus for the past few weeks, tonight's also the night Honolulu's most famous Jamba Juice employee, Jordan Segundo, faces the questionable musical smarts of Paula, Randy, Simon and the rest of America. Got redial?

"Kingpin" finale, 9 p.m., NBC. Tonight's episode must feel like the end of a mini-series and leave room for a possible series. That happens, producer-writer David Mills says: "Each of the three main characters' stories will have a major payoff."

Of Note

"Nova: Lost Treasures of Tibet," 8 p.m., PBS. When the Chinese took over Tibet in 1950, this film says, they destroyed as many as 10,000 monasteries. Surviving, however, were spots in the nearby Himalayan kingdom of Mustang, now part of Nepal but culturally more like Tibet. Documentary offers wondrous views of art, architecture and the painstaking efforts at restoration.

"24," 8 p.m., Fox. Jack has learned that the nuclear bomb is being loaded onto a plane at a small airport near Los Angeles. Now comes the rush to get there.